From the wild north coast to the sandy heaths of Breckland, the Norfolk Broads to ancient woodlands, Norfolk’s diverse habitats are home to a stunning variety of wildlife. Joining us today makes a real difference to Norfolk. Your support helps us protect the future of that wildlife and helps us inspire people to value nature.

Common Buzzard Buteo buteo

The common buzzard is the most common of Britain’s larger birds of prey and it is found in most habitats, particularly woodland, arable, pasture, marsh and scrub. It eats small mammals, birds, carrion and even earthworms if food is in short supply. Its distinctive mewing call, like a cat, is usually made in flight. It can be mistaken for a honey buzzard which passes through Norfolk as a summer visitor or on migration but they have a smaller head and neck and a different jizz.

Conservation status

Buzzards are now the most widespread resident raptor in Britain. Persecution in the 19th Century resulted in buzzards being confined to just the western areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Numbers increased after the banning of a number of pesticides in the 1960s which had been found to affect the ability to reproduce of a number of bird species. Since the 1990s they have recolonised the south and east of England and are now a familiar sight and sound in Norfolk.

Details

Did you know? The male will perform an aerial display (known as ‘the roller coaster’) to attract a mate, rising high in the sky to plummet downwards in a twisting and turning spiral. Buzzards are strongly territorial and will defend their territories all year. Their nests are a substantial structure built of twigs and branches, and lined with vegetation, which can be 100cm wide and 60cm deep.

How to recognise

A stocky, medium to large sized raptor with broad, rounded wings, a short neck and a short, rounded brown and grey barred tail. They are up to 55cm in length with a wingspan of 150cm; the female is just slightly larger than the male. The plumage can be quite variable in colour from dark grey-brown to quite pale, but all birds have dark wings. The legs are yellow and unfeathered and the hooked beak is brownish. The distinctive mewing call will often indicate their presence nearby but they are also quite sedentary and are the most likely raptor to be found perched on posts or trees or on the ground hunting for worms.

They can be seen all year round. The birds aerial mating display is performed in the spring.

Find out more

The Norfolk Bird and Mammal report published annually by The Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ SocietyRSPBBTO

How to help

The breeding success of buzzards depends largely on a good food supply and a lack of human interference. Up to a half of nests can fail due to human activity so watch and enjoy the nesting activity from a distance. Buzzards were badly affected by the spread of myxamatosis in the 1950s which caused the rabbit population to plummet. They are at the top of the food chain so will only thrive in a landscape where there is a healthy population of mammal and bird prey for food.